UK school groupsJanuary: The Meetings Resume
After the meeting in Berlin, brothers, sisters and volunteers have returned to Taizé. The welcome began again, and the young adult meetings have now begun again in earnest, for example with thirty young people from the United States, mostly Presbyterians. On Epiphany Sunday, after the celebration of the Eucharist, the brothers and all those present came out in front of the Church of Reconciliation to sing one last time near the Christmas crib. On January 12, two years after the earthquake in Haiti, prayer became more intense in communion with that people.
God of goodness, grant us to welcome your mercy and allow it to overflow from our lives to those we meet. Today we entrust to you especially the people of Haiti, those working to rebuild the country. And we thank you for the faith and perseverance to keeps this beloved people on their feet.
At the Berlin meeting, Brother Alois spoke of the silent retreats offered at Taizé. I experienced this during the month of January in the house for boys, called "le Puits (the Well)".
During those few days I made many discoveries about my life, my personality and the Bible. Meditating on the announcement of the death and resurrection of Christ in different parts of the Bible made me realize the importance of the person of Jesus in the history of the world, but especially in my life. Thanks to the attention of two volunteers who took care of our meals during the week, and regular meetings with a Taizé brother, we managed in a few days to reach a relative inner silence—a face-to-face encounter with ourselves—which reveals a lot about us. I was able to discover in my personality a lot of very positive things, but this solitude also revealed the less glorious features of my character, about which I now know I must be careful.
I also took long afternoon walks around the countryside of Taizé and meditated in churches in nearby villages. I found in this contact with nature a more peaceful life and a more human pace that I will try to maintain even in a different environment. It was a very rewarding experience, but on the last day after the Eucharist, I was overjoyed to finally be able to talk and laugh again with my friends!
February: in the chill of winter
As in most parts of Europe, the winter chill has settled on the hill of Taizé. Although far from large cities, the prayers of the brothers and the young people remembers those who are suffering from the difficult climatic conditions, especially those who in our developed societies are without housing. A group of orphans from Poland, from the region of Lublin, followed after a large number of Czechs who were here at the beginning of February. With the start of the high school vacations, it is now high school students from the South of France who are the most numerous.
Visiting the Community, Pastor Sophie Schlumberger spent a day sharing with the brothers on Bible reflection and the themes being prepared for the meetings over the coming months. Her husband, Pastor Laurent Schlumberger, President of the National Council of the Reformed Church of France, had a meeting with the youth volunteers.
Trust between human beings
During our reflection week at the beginning of February, we considered the theme of “trust between human beings”. After several days of sharing on the value and the difficulties of trust in relationships and putting trust into practise, we met with Pastor Laurent Schlumberger, President of the National Council of the Reformed Church of France, who was making a short visit to Taizé.
Reflecting on the theme of trust, he helped us become aware of the unconditional love of God for each human being, independently of all his or her acts and decisions. In a clear and insistent manner, he developed the conviction: it is God who gives to each person a meaning to life; he assigns a place to each one”
But how do we understand, concretely, the place that God prepares for us? His reply was surprising: “I do not know… and I am not worried about it”. For the fact that God takes care of us goes together with the trust he places in each one of us. A trust that enables us to recognise ourselves as children of God, and to trust in one another and to love one another.
Questions followed: how can I be sure of the trust of God, or what is the relation between trust and egoism and the mistrust that seem so natural to human beings? We reflected together on possible replies, until time ran out and obliged us to bring to an end this interesting afternoon.